


Asesino Lunar

by IntrovertedTrumpet



Category: Original Work
Genre: Friends to Enemies, Murder, Other, Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:15:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29587785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntrovertedTrumpet/pseuds/IntrovertedTrumpet





	Asesino Lunar

Moonlight shines down upon an isolated island located off the coast of Mexico. Gentle waves crashing upon the shore. Everything is peaceful. The wind whispering through the leaves of the hickory trees just past the shoreline. Cobblestoned paths that lead to the village are equally as quiet. To the normal outsider, all is well. Nothing is out of the ordinary. A normal village living a normal life — the perfect example of life. But if you look just a tiny bit closer, dark secrets will be revealed.

The village cemetery isn’t the only place where the dead reside. Every month on the night of the full moon, one person leaves the land of the living. Of course, this isn’t by choice. Who would willingly choose to be raped and tortured before being murdered? This the life of Alondra DeVille. Fearing for her life a couple of days every month in a sick twisted version of The Purge. Village life wasn’t always like this, fear for each other’s lives every month. The village used to be a serene place to live. Everyone contributed to the way of living. Some people maintained the crops, others mended clothing, the elders taught the next generation. Then one full moon seven years ago disturbed the peace. Alondra remembers it like it was just yesterday. 

It was a typical day for her. She spent the morning half of the day learning about which berries were safe to eat and the afternoon was spent learning to stitch clothes with her mother. She went to bed that night and when she woke the following morning, she just knew something was wrong — some call it women’s intuition. Halfway through her lesson with the elders was her gut feeling proven to be true. Esperanza Gutierrez’s mangled body was found deep in the rice field. Her once golden tan skin was purple and blue. Ocean blue eyes similar to Alondra’s were no longer present. In their place were con-caved, maggot infested, bloody eye sockets scarred with lacerations made by a jagged knife. Chunks of ivory hair missing in scattered patches all along her head. All that Alondra was told at the time was that mama’s friend had died; the killer was never found.

The weeks following Esperanza’s death, the people of the village could only explain it as a punishment directly from God himself. Esperanza was the puta of the village, having a different hombre de pueblo keeping her bed warm every night. Only after the death of Josue Ortiz did the island realize that there was a murder amongst them. Josue’s death was also viewed as a punishment dealt by God at first. Josue constantly spoke ill of the dead, even more so after Esperanza’s as her death was particularly gruesome and out of the ordinary. He was always gossiping and spreading rumors and lies about her life whilst working in the rice field. Using diversions to cover his ass and make it seem like these backhanded comments were not of his creation.

“Ella must’ve been easy if her bed was constantly warm.”

“Psst… aye I heard from Marcos who heard from Juan who heard from David that she wore this ugly ass bonnet whilst doing it.”

Everyone in the village just let him continue gossiping. When Josue’s body was found in the same spot as Esperanza’s the next lunar cycle; it was interpreted as a sign to stop spreading rumors. Josue’s body was an equal sad of black and blue like hers was. Eyes missing as well. The only difference between the brutally and almost unrecognizable bodies was that his lips were cut off. The Cheshire grin that he always wore still a signature trademark even in death. His yellow and blackened teeth on full display to those who discovered the body, as though he told the greatest truth imaginable.

The one thing that didn’t make sense for it to be a punishment for gossiping was that his genitalia was completely severed from his body. If his true crime was that of voice his twisted version of the truth, why was he punished like a whore? That’s when it clicked in everyone’s head that this death wasn’t God’s doing; it was someone else amongst them. After the next three deaths did the paranoia set in amongst the island.  
Families became suspicious of each other. Friends no longer conversed causally; all conversations became cordial. No one travelled alone anywhere, not even to the bathroom. In order to truly feel safe, one must travel in groups of three. Parents no longer allowed their children to learn with the elders. The only people in the village who were not suspects were people like Alondra — innocent children of God who can do no harm. After the pattern of deaths were established, Madre never let Alondra out of her sight during the three days leading up to the full moon. More so, she never let anyone in the village lay eyes upon her daughter. Hiding away with Alondra in an unknown location on the island in hopes of saving her daughter in becoming the next victim of the Lunar Murderer; commonly called Asesino Lunar amongst the people of the village.

Tonight was the first night of isolation. Following her mother through the dense trees heading deeper into the forest towards their hiding spot that resided deep inside of a cave that no one in the village knew existed on the island. To occupy her time during the lengthy walk, she thought about the first ever time the Madre made her start hiding away. Madre came across the cave about two years after the murders started occurring when she was gathering indigo flowers to dye cotton for fabric. On the month of her twelfth birthday is when Madre started the isolation. Whilst the main country deems a girls fifteenth birthday as a proclamation of womanhood. The village claims that when a girl turns twelve, she is no longer a child and now a woman.  
From what the people of the village has gathered about Asesino Lunar is that he does not chose those who are under fifteen, the traditional age of maturity. Maybe that’s why Madre started hiding her away at such a young age, and an age Asesino Lunar never chose? Maybe Madre wanted to make sure she was safe in the island’s eyes; just in case the murder chose to lower the demographic?

\----------------------------------

Alondra wandered slowly towards the rice fields wondering which one of her neighbors were gone from village. One connection that she made between each of the victims that she has only shared with one person in her life — all of the murders are related to her in one way or another. Sometimes it was a neighbor that lived in the same hut cluster as her. They could’ve worked with her in the rice fields. Bullied her in her school years. One thing that she was subconsciously certain that she didn’t want to believe true — these murders somehow revolved around her. When she got to the field she walked up to her supervisor and best friend Roberto Gomez. Her and Roberto have been friends for as long as she could remember. Although friendships and any other types of relationships that were not familial were basically frowned upon in the village now since anyone could be Asesino Lunar, that didn’t stop her from being with her best friend. They even dared to go as far as wearing matching seashells, his on a simple cord necklace whilst Alondra wore hers as an intricate bracelet; they never went a day without wearing them. They were complete opposites from each other, but they still made their relationship work. Roberto was about three inches over six feet with a broad build whilst she barley came up to his ribs with her lithe five-foot frame. His dark brown eyes a stark contrast with her ocean blue ones. Personally, she thinks that Roberto would be better off making his time more worthwhile in building huts around the village. But he still preferred to work with Alondra, after all work was the only place they were able to see each other. Not with Madre being so protective of Alondra.

“Hola Robbie”

“Hola, Princessa”

Alondra never understood Roberto’s constant need to call her princess. He swears that the nickname came about when they were toddlers. He says that it’s because she was adamant that she was a princess. She thinks that she would remember that. Alondra has tried to get him to stop calling her that, but her attempts are futile so she just lets him do what he wants.

Leaning down to fasten her shoes and make sure that they are on properly so no water soaks her socks she strikes up the usual first of the month conversation. “So, do we know who’s gone this time?”

“No not yet. We thought it was Annalessia but she showed up about thirty minutes ago. As far as I’m concerned no one had found the body yet. But who knows, we know how slow news like this likes to travel around the village.” Then in a teasing voice he continued on, “Who knows, maybe this time the body is hidden under your bed like the monsters were when we were kids Princessa.”

Annoyed with Roberto’s foul attempt at humor, Alondra hastily turned away and starts stomping towards her quadrant of the field “Not Funny! You know how I feel about the Asesino victims Robbie!”

Realizing his mistake, Roberto jogs to catch up to Alondra; running in front of her to stop her movements and rests his hands upon her shoulders. “Hey, I’m sorry Alondra. I was just trying to lighten the mood. I know how this freak you out every month okay. Im sorry.”

“Just leave me alone okay. I am just not in the mood for this today okay Robbie? I’ll talk to you later. I need to get to work.” Stepping aside from Roberto, Alondra heads towards her section of the rice field. Whilst sifting through the field, all she could thing about was her impending sense of dread. She did not want to be the person to find the body. Not with how horrible mangled they are. Each body is as equally grotesque as the last. If anything, they have been getting more and more unrecognizable as the years go on. It just doesn’t make sense to her. It has been seven year, closer to eight, when the murders started and yet they have never been found. In all honesty she doesn’t know what’s worse. The fact the killer has never been caught, or the fact that no one has bothered to move away from the island and back to the mainland. It’s like we are all subjecting ourselves into a raffle pool for a prize that no one wants.

Alondra lights up at her last thought. Her and Madre can just move back to Mexico the next full moon. Everyone knows that they go into hiding for a couple days each month, so everyone will turn a blind eye until after the moon has passed — when it is too late to stop them from leaving. Giddy with the idea of telling Madre about her plan, she can’t wait until it is time to leave the fields for the day. Alondra was too caught up in excitement to notice Roberto staring at her intently, almost as if he was able to read her mind and know of her plan. The usual sparkle in his eye no longer present.

\--------------------------------------------------

Tonight is the night. With a little persuasion, Alondra was able to convince Madre to move back to the mainland. No longer will they have to fear for their lives. They will be free for the torment they are forced to endure. Alondra looks towards the hut from where she was standing outside. This was her whole life; all she has ever known was the small ten by ten-foot wooden hut that she called a house. She will miss the smell of the mud-caked walls and the lavenders that Madre always had planted outside the house to make it look a bit nicer than the other huts. That’s the thing, everyone else saw their living quarters as hut, but to Alondra this was her home. A home that she was leaving for a better life and a greater chance of survival. In just a few hours they will no longer have to endure the torment of Asesino Lunar. They will be free at last. But she just couldn’t bring herself to leave without telling Roberto. He’s been her best friend for all her life, he’s the one person most deserving a reason as to why she is leaving.

Walking back towards the house, she calls out to Madre “Mama, I’m going gathering to make sure we have enough supplies for the next few days!” Once Alondra gets permission from Madre to leave their little neighborhood, she sets off to go find Roberto to give him one final goodbye. She found him very quickly, he was still at work for some reason, tending to his section of the rice field.

“Robbie!” Alondra calls out to him from across the field waving him over to come closer so she doesn’t have to wade in mid-calf water in her nice tennis shoes. Roberto turns around, startled as he wasn’t expecting to be bothered after the standard work hours. Alondra was a little startled herself, because as long as she’s known him, he has never mentioned staying after the working day; never-mind doing it so close to when Asesino Lunar strikes.

“Aye Princessa, what are you doing here, aren’t Madre and you supposed to go wherever you go soon?”

“Si, but there is something I need to tell you Robbie.” Alondra slips off the seashell bracelet that had adorned her tanned wrist since she was five and put it into Roberto’s hand, closing his fingers around it. “Madre and I are leaving; we are leaving for good. We are going to the mainland, I don’t know if we are ever going to be back, not with Asesino tormenting the island. Maybe if they are caught, we’ll come back. But as long as they thrive; we don’t feel safe. Everyone we talk to is a threat to us. We are tired of living like this Robbie . . . I am losing sleep as the months keep on passing, paranoid that I am next, that I’ll —”

Roberto cuts her off, a scared look dancing behind his eyes as he is told that he will possibly never see Alondra again, clutching the bracelet tighter afraid to drop it. “No Alondra, trust me, you will never become his victim okay? You are one hundred percent safe from Asesnaito.”

“How are you so sure about this Robbie?” she remarks exhausted. “How are you so sure that I won’t become another mangled corpse to be found. How are you so fucking sure that my eyes will not be gouged out of their sockets, or maybe fingers sliced off right at the knuckle? It’s been seven fucking years and they haven’t been caught! All of the people so far have been connected to me in one way or another, who’s to say I’m not the actual target? A simple puppet to the puppet masters ideal show?”

He grabs her hand, his hand swallowing hers; “Just . . . just let me show you something okay? Let me show you why I am so sure that you will never become an Asesino victim okay? Let me stop you from making a huge mistake.”

Hesitantly she nods in agreement, letting Roberto lead her away from the fields towards the shoreline. Every couple of paces he looks back at her, almost as though he is worried that she will slip away from his hold back into the forest — where she will be gone for good. After what seemed like hours of walking to Alondra, they come across the rock cliffs. Before when they were children and didn’t have to worry about Asesino Lunar, this was their special place. Where they escaped to go play without having to worry about anyone else joining in a ruining their fun. Although it’s not exactly a secret location like the cave that Alondra and Madre hide in every month, no one ever comes out here.

“What are we doing out her—” Roberto cuts her off before she can finish her sentence. “Shhh, we are almost there Princessa.” He leads her to the top of the rock pile that leads out towards the sea. Roberto lets go of her hand and kneels down to move the surface rocks. Underneath, the newly reveled hole shows a makeshift staircase that leads deep into the rocks. Too confused as to what is going on, she lets him retake her hand and lead her down the dark staircase. The farther they go down, the more prominent the foul air becomes. Due to the lack of light, Alondra is completely dependent on Roberto’s guidance, which is something she would normally be okay with, but her gut is telling her that something is wrong.

“Robbie, where are you taking me? Why are you acting so weird? I need to go back; Madre is waiting for me.”

“Why can’t you see what I’ve done for you Princessa? Everything I have done has been for you, you aren’t the target. No no no, you’re the fixation.”

Feeling scared, Alondra tries to jerk her wrist free from his grasp, but all Roberto does is tighten his hold. “What do you mean you’ve done this all for me Robbie? Let me go, you’re scaring me!”

“No! Not until you can understand why you’ll never die from the hands of Asesino. Come on, we’re not too far now, just a little bit closer. . .”

Alondra valiantly continues trying to free herself from Roberto’s constant tugging, stumbling down the stairs as they go down. Abruptly, they come to a stop, Alondra crashing into Roberto’s back and would’ve fallen to the floor if it wasn’t for him spinning around a grasping her shoulders.

“This is what I have been wanting you to see for a long time Princessa, for so many years I have waited until the perfect time and now the occasion has arisen . . . I love you Alondra, and to show you just how much – this is the very place where I have gotten rid of any potential threats”

Now the feeling of curiosity and suspicion over comes her fear. “What do you mean this is the place where you’ve gotten rid of potential threats? Fuck, what the hell have you done Roberto?”

“They were going to hurt you!” he growled menacingly, gripping her shoulders so hard that bruises will remain for weeks. “I had to get rid of them! I remember every single one and their crimes they plotted towards you. The first one is the most memorable, I mean who could forget the island puta Esperanza. Always flaunting herself out to any man with legs. You see she didn’t stop at the men, no no no, she offered herself out to the rest of us young boys – offered herself to me. I knew what she was doing, she was trying to take me away from you and I couldn’t let that happen!” Roberto moves himself around Alondra, his front to her back, keeping a tight grip of her shoulders. He leaned in close, lips brushing her ear as he continued on. “So, I lured her out here promising her anything and everything she ever wanted of me and every other male on the island. I lead her down these very steps.’ Alondra could feel him reaching into is front right pocket of his jeans, removing the object into her line of sight; she squints trying to get a good view of it in the darkness.

‘Then I took this very knife and slit her throat nice and slow. I saw the light leaving her eyes . . . eyes so similar to yours. I just couldn’t bare looking into those bright blue orbs, so I took them out. Using the knife to stab each eye and yank it out of their sockets. All of the other damage to her body occurred when I dragged her back by her hair to the rice fields. And no one has suspected a thing. I mean come on, who would expect a ten-year-old boy to do something so gruesome."

Completely shocked at his confession, Alondra could barely register the hands on her shoulders moving to wrap around her middle, hugging her closer to his body. “Now we can be together Princessa, no longer will you have to worry about anything. I’ll take care of you. You no longer need to leave the island . . . you and Madre are completely safe.”

This was the time for Alondra to act, Robbie is the Asesino Lunar – He may be my best friend but I need to do what’s right. Very slowly Alondra moves her left hand to rest on top of his hand that is still holding the knife.

“Robbie . . . you dint know how much this means to me. Thank you for making sure my family is safe –”

“Anything for you Princessa”, a Cheshire grin spreading across his face at her faux declaration of gratitude.

“—but I have to do this.”

She quickly yanks the knife out of his grasp, her elbow digging into his stomach. Roberto’s hold around Alondra’s slips as he is caught off guard. With no time to think about what she is doing; she plunges the knife in the middle of his chest. Roberto’s eyes widen, mouth gaping with shock. When Alondra finally realizes what she has done, she removes the knife as quickly as she inserted it. Roberto’s blood staining the knife and her hands as the wound is allowed to bleed freely. His body drops to the floor, the amount of blood loss is way too much – even if she could, there is no way to save Robbie. Alondra throws the knife as far away from her as she drops to the floor next to Roberto, blood-stained hands shakingly reaching towards his face.

“I never wanted any of this to happen Robbie . . .” Tears gathering in her eyes as blue eyes make contact with brown. She bends down to press a kiss upon his forehead, moving his hair away from his forehead she says her final goodbye. “I love you Robbie, but what you’ve done is monstrous, and now the memory becomes my burden to bear.”

She gets up slowly and casts a parting look towards Roberto’s withering form. Feeling along the walls of the narrow cave, she slowly makes her way towards the surface. Before she makes her way back towards the village, she replaces the rocks that covered up the entrance, adding more for extra measure so that it will hopefully never be discovered again. Although there is only one body that occupies the cave, three people died tonight. Asesino Lunar and Roberto will forever remain in the cave, whilst Alondra lost a part of herself tonight. Now there is truly nothing tying her to this island. By the time the village realizes that Asesino was the one who died tonight and the murders will be no more. Alondra and Madre will be long gone from this place; they will spend the rest of their lives on the mainland. Only having the memories of the lives they once lived.


End file.
